So Much Christmas... So Little Time

Another holiday season has come and gone. It seems to go by so fast! We had a fabulous season, with only a few minor bumps along the way. Erin had the stomach flu for Christmas, but we still managed to make it to all of our family parties that day - although we had to cut one a bit short. (Sorry Grandma and Grandpa about the neighbors sidewalk... at least she didn't throw up in the van!)

The kids made out like bandits this year. They're getting old enough (and honestly, spoiled enough) they got money and gift cards from just about everyone. Miah ended up making a $300 deposit on Friday! Score! It took us almost all evening on Saturday to spend gift cards. I was in mommy heaven, as the children hate to shop these days - except when it's their shopping they want to do. We made it to Game Stop, Barnes and Noble, Target and Walmart, and I managed to squeeze a Pier One stop in, with much duress. The only cards we put off spending were Starbucks and Chili's, but we're planning on using them tomorrow.


My favorite tradition that we have in our family is our Handmade Gift Exchange. We exchange names (the participants being our little family, my mom, dad and brother, my sister and her son, my grandma and her sister, and her grand-daughter) then we have to hand make a gift for our recipient. This year Miah drew my name. He made me a gorgeous wooden box that I put on my kitchen counter to hold all of my fruit tools in. I love that the box is so meticulously made, and then wrapped so haphazardly! That's my boy, for sure.

Friday was supposed to involve a trip to Idaho to party with Trav's dad's family and play Bunco, but Erin did what I've been trying to train her to do for thirteen years - she shared. Too bad it was the flu, but she did share. Progress! The boys didn't feel up to a four hour drive with no immediate toilet around. We were so sad to miss that party, especially since we don't make it up to visit often. We're going to try to avoid the flu and the snow next week and make the trip.

It's Saturday night now, and the tree is down and packed back in its box and stored under the house. The stockings are down and all the wrapping paper is in the recycle bins. Although it feels like it's all over, I realized as I pulled into our driveway tonight - it isn't! We forgot to unplug and pack up the inflatable snow globe that's out in the yard. That means it's still Christmastime, so Merry Extended Christmas to all of you!

Song Birds

We have two new babies at our house! They have fit themselves right into our hearts and our home. They fit our gender-typical mold as well: we have strong-willed, stubborn females and laidback, mellow males. That seems to be the universal mold in our family - it even crosses species barriers. Our cats and humans, and now our birds all fall neatly into those two catagories. The girls get their way and the boys don't complain about it. It works for us!

The baby birds have spent so much of their time at home getting to know us. They are very comfortable here, and they like to 'hang' with their humans. I loved watching Erin and Diablo (Dee for short) play Rock Band together!

I thought it was so cute, in fact, that I made Icarus (Icky for short) get in on the Rock Band action for a shot.

It didn't last long, though. He likes his humans too much and knocked the mic stand over in his hurry to get back to my shoulder where he KNOWS he belongs.

Icky is not in Erin's mouth in this photo! It's a trick of the camera, I promise! Erin is telling me how she doesn't think it's a good idea to use the flash because it might hurt their eyes so her mouth is open, and Ick's on her shoulder nowhere near her mouth. :) No babies were harmed in the making of this photo, and no teenager got bird cooties in her mouth!

We are all in love with the two new additions to our family. They have such wonderful personalities and are so much fun. Even Travis likes them, and will get them out of their cage when they ask him to!

Everything I Know, I Learned in the Passenger Seat

We have fabulous news today - we are all still alive! Despite the fact that the weather wasn't wonderful and both of us have awful colds, Miah and I headed up to the church parking lot after school for a huge adventure. Here is a list of interesting things I learned while riding in the passengers seat yesterday as he took the wheel for his very first time:

1. Video games have a huge impact on my child's frame of mind. That is sort of scary when he's behind the wheel of a machine he can kill himself in.

2. Gas pedals and stop signs are extraneous. Mentioning what they are for and how they are to be used isn't really enough.

3. Patience is a virtue. Usually.

4. A mother really can laugh and cry at the same time. Also, repetition of a word or phrase has no immediate effect on a teenager, but it does help the mother feel like she's being productive while pushing her foot through the floor of the vehicle.

The huge sigh in the middle of this clip is his, not mine. I wasn't actually breathing enough to sigh...

All-in-all, he actually did a good job, especially as he has NEVER driven, not even to back the car out of the driveway. That being said, I was really impressed. Grateful to be alive still, yes, but impressed none-the-less.

We'll be on the road again tomorrow. You've all been warned.

Happy, Happy Birthday Miah

Today is Miah's birthday. He is fifteen years old. Already. I'm not sure how it happened - I tried to make him stay that cute little boy who stole my heart in 1993, but somehow he just kept growing up. Now I have to look up to talk to him and stand on my tiptoes to hug him. He gets my jokes now, and I find myself explaining the world to him less and less, and having him explain to me more and more.

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We're headed out to the DMV this afternoon so he can take the driver's test to get his permit. I'm afraid this is really the beginning of the end of his dependence on me. Although it is so hard to let go, I'm so proud of the man he is and I know he will leave his mark on this world.

If you see our blue van hurtling down the freeway with the shrieking, frightened woman in the passengers seat... look out - that's us.

Rockin' Christmas

Our (not so little anymore) rock stars had their December Show a few weekends ago. They've added another song to their playlist - a band original. It is getting really fun to listen to them, as they're becoming a very talented band and they did especially well considering they were minus one guitar player. Luckily, their director Dave is willing to step in and play for them when they need it.

Trav ends up carrying quite often. I thought it was funny that he carried Miah's bass like he was playing it. It was even funnier that he was strumming while he stood there waiting for the kids to finish chatting. The important thing to notice here is that he's strumming with his right hand, while keeping his left hand (you know, the one that is supposed to do the fancy fingerwork up on the frets) firmly in his pocket! Yeah, we're still not sure where the kids get their musical talent from...

Goodnight Moon

What do you get when you cross a full moon with a storm that's rolling in? (Well, the weatherman claims it's rolling in... we'll see how much snow we really get tomorrow.) Beautiful skies, of course. I was able to snap these shots before the clouds moved out from in front of the moon tonight.

You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry...

Have you written your letter to Santa yet this year? We're running a tad bit behind at our house, but luckily we were browsing through our scrapbooks the other day and came across this:

This is six-year-old Erin's letter written in 2001. It's a good letter. It's honest - she was naughty, yeah, but she still wants what she wants! I've decided it's not a bad idea, so we're just recycling Erin's letter to use for all of us this year:

'Tis the Season

Well, it's here already. This year has gone by so quickly. The turkey's gone and the boxes have been dragged out from the storage area. I've braved the stores and I'm almost done with the shopping. I bought a new camera last week (a SONY DSLR-A350) and I've been having a great time playing with it and trying to apply everything I learned in my black and white photography class to digital photography. I've got a long way to go, but with the Christmas decorations up, I've got an ample supply of subject matter to photograph.

For example, the row of stockings hanging on the rail. These aren't actually the stockings we fill anymore - these are about 12 years old, but they match the ornaments on my tree so they've become part of the 'decorations'.

We've been an artificial tree family for the last decade. I always insisted on real... until they started making the fake ones with the prestrung lights. It's so fast and so easy that it's worth giving up the yummy smell of the real trees. Also, we always seemed to end up with the tree that looked like a stunner on the lot, but showed its true disfigured self once we got it standing askew in the living room. Those trees were also always bottom-heavy with lights... I'm not so tall, and the top of the tree is a long stretch from down here!

I did say I have ample subject matter to practice on, not necessarily HAPPY subject matter. Erin thought it would be cute to get some shots of our cats wearing Christmas outfits. I bet her that our little girl kitty, Persephone (Sephie for short), would probably scratch Erin's eyes out if she tried to dress her. I was wrong, but only because the kitty couldn't reach her eyes. Sephie scratched her foot off instead, then she ran like the demons were after her anytime Erin got close. Ha ha! I'm not sure which girl I felt worse for. I didn't think our old tom Grae would let her get near him either, but he surprised me. She got the necklace thingy and the hat on and although he was a bit nervous about it, he took it in stride pretty quickly and left us to go eat his dinner. Was he thrilled about the two of us following him around and flashing him in the eyes with the camera? Um... I don't think so!

If looks could kill! Anyway, Grae wishes you all a Very Hairy Christmas! (Now shoo you humans and let me eat, really, this is getting old. Go ahead... touch the bell on my hat again... I dare 'ya!)